Soulmarks
by LilluvM
Summary: Jack Kelly lives in a world where everyone has a soulmate. At some point between the ages of ten and thirteen, everyone develops a mark somewhere on their bodies, and whoever has a matching mark is their soulmate. Jack has given up all hope of meeting his soulmate, but is in love with his two best friends, Crutchie and Davey, who are soulmates. What's a boy to do?
1. I Saw Him Standing There

Jack Kelly was a hopeless romantic. Always has been, probably always will be. Ever since the first time his mother had told him about soulmates, he had been excited to meet his. He had pictured a pretty girl for a long time... until he kissed a girl on a dare in middle school and figured out he liked boys.

In senior year of high school, Davey Jacobs came into the picture. After only two weeks of living there, he and Crutchie had figured out they were soulmates. Jack was over the moon for them, he really was. He just wished he could find his soulmate. Not only that, but he had known that he had liked Crutchie since they met in freshman year. He really wanted to be happy for the two of them, but he just found it really hard to be.

It was a stroke of luck that all three of them ended up at NYU together, along with Davey;s sister, Sarah. She met her soulmate, Kitty, freshman year, making Jack even more jealous. But, despite Crutchie and Davey being together, they were still his best friends with Jack.

Now that they were juniors, Jack was losing hope of ever finding his soulmate. He knew what all the statistics said - Most people found their soulmates between the ages of seventeen and twenty, and he was approaching the end of that window. And it didn't help that he was hopelessly in love with his best friend, and he was starting to think that he had a crush on Davey, too.

So, Jack couldn't help but feel unnerved at the beginning of his junior year of college as he walked under a huge purple sign with white block lettering labeled 'Move-In Day!' while walking to his dorm, holding the small box and suitcase he chose to bring with him from home. He looked around and saw people that he recognized as he walked up the stairs to his third-floor dorm, greeting them with polite hellos.

Once he finally got to his room, 3B, he pulled it open to see his roommate of three years, Darcy, awaiting him on the other side.

"Hey, Darcy, how's it goin'?" Jack asked, putting his stuff down and high-fiving Darcy.

"Pretty good." The smaller man replied, sitting down on his bed. "You?"

Before Jack had an opportunity to answer, both boys' phones chimed.

_**NYU Squad**_

_**Race: **Meeting in the quad in 10 b there or b square_

Both boys laughed at Race's dumb message, heading for the door.

XXX

As Jack and Darcy walked up to the quad, they spotted all of their friends lounging in a circle in the center of the field, under a tree.

"Hey, guys!" Jack called as he approached, scanning his friends. As he did, he spotted a guest.

"Whatcha doin' here, Les?" Jack asked as he sat down next to the boy.

"Mom said I could hang out with you guys while she bought groceries for Sarah and Davey," Les responded.

"Do you know everyone here?" Jack asked, motioning around the circle. Les shook his head.

"Well," Jack gestured to his left, the side where Les wasn't sitting. "This is Smalls and Sniper. They're soulmates." Jack started, staring at the two girls holding hands, talking to each other in hushed tones. "Next is Spot, Race, Albert, and Elmer." Jack gestured to the group of four boys, all together in a pile of limbs on the grass. "They're all soulmates."

"All of them?" Les asked, shocked.

"Yep." Jack laughed, continuing on. "You know Sarah and Kitty." He said next. Sarah's soulmate's real name was Katherine, but everyone calls her Kitty. Apparently, it was a high school nickname that she liked. "Then the one talking to them is Darcy, my roommate." He pointed to the smaller boy. "His soulmate, Bill, goes to Stanford. Next, are Romeo and Specs, who finally got their shit together over the summer and figured out they're soulmates." His eyes landed on his best friends. "And, finally, you know Davey and Crutchie..." Jack trailed off as he watched the two boys kiss, envy building up in his throat. He pulled his sweatshirt sleeve over his soulmark, a beautiful pair of rainbow wings, that was on the inside of his wrist. He couldn't bear to look at it while he was pining over Davey and Crutchie. It felt like he was betraying his soulmate or something

"Ok, everyone, let's go." Race called, untangling himself from his boyfriends and standing up.

XXX

Everyone, excluding Les, who's mom had picked him up to take him home, walked the short walk to Race's favorite (and according to him, the only acceptable) ice cream shop near their campus, The Big Gay Ice Cream Shop. Because leave it to Race to find an ice cream shop with the word 'gay' in the name.

They all ordered at the counter and squeezed into the two tiny booths at the back, all struggling to fit. Once the poor teenage waitress brought over their orders, they all began to eat, except for Jack. His chocolate fudge sundae just sat abandoned in front of him. All he could look at was Davey and Crutchie, who were in the booth across the aisle. They were feeding each other ice cream and giggling at the same time. It has horribly cute, and all Jack wanted to do was join them. He knew that he was their best friend and would've let him sit with them, but he wanted to give them some alone time.

"Hey," Race said, pulling Jack out of his daze. "Jackie-boy. Ya good?"

"Uh... yeah," Jack replied, taking a quick bite of his melting ice cream and looking right back up at the two boys he'd been staring at for the past ten minutes.

"Just talk to them, Jack." Race said (for probably the millionth time). "Who knows? Maybe you're soulmark is the same as theirs. I mean, look at Spot, Elmer, Albert and I. We didn't discover that all four of us were soulmates until after Spot and I and were together, _and_ Albert and Elmer were together." Race poked Jack's shoulder for effect. "That could be you!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Jack grumbled, suddenly becoming very interested in the chocolaty, soupy mess that barley passed for ice cream sitting in front of him as Crutchie and Davey kissed.

Jack stood up to throw his ice cream cup out, again abandoning any hope of ever finding his soulmate. As he threw his ice cream cup in the trashcan, he caught a glimpse of the mark on his wrist. Feeling close to tears, he pulled his sleeve over his wrist and left the ice cream shop without a word to any of his friends. They were probably all better off without him, anyway.

**(A/N - I looked it up, and the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop is a thing. It's on E. 7th street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A in NYC. Is it near NYU? I have no idea. But was the opportunity too perfect to pass up? Definitely. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, despite the fact that Jack is a sad boi. More chapters should be up soon, so be sure to check them out! Kisses! -Lilluv)**


	2. Who Am I?

Jack awoke early one Saturday morning two weeks later to his phone ringing. As he hit 'answer', he glanced at the clock and groaned. six-thirty am. Who the hell was calling him at six-thirty am on a Saturday?

"What?" Jack asked, too tired to be polite.

"Jack, its Crutchie." He heard his best friend say over the line.

"What is it, Crutchie? It's six-thirty in the fucking morning."

"I know, but... it's Davey."

"Is it-?"

"Yeah."

"Ok, I'm on my way." Jack jumped up out of bed, pulling on a T-Shirt and jeans over the boxers he usually slept in and popping a piece of gum in his mouth so he could forego brushing his teeth.

He ran out the door and down the two flights of stairs to Crutchie and Davey's first-floor dorm, not even bothering to knock when he got to dorm 1D, already knowing exactly what would await him behind the door.

He opened the door to find Davey curled up under the covers of the beds he and Crutchie pushed together on move-in day, in a blanket burrito. Crutchie was sitting next to him, holding a box of tampons, trying to coax him into using one.

"Come on, Davey, please. You'll feel so much better." Crutchie said in a comforting tone to his boyfriend, before turning around and noticing Jack's arrival. He got up off the bed, grabbing his crutch from off the floor and walking over to Jack.

"It's bad this time, Jack. He won't even get out of bed." Crutchie said, clearly nervous.

"I know, Crutchie, I know, but dysphoria can get really bad sometimes." Jack sighed looking over at his friend. "At least he's not doing anything dangerous."

"Yeah, I guess." Crutchie sighed.

They stared silently for a moment at Davey before Jack said, "It can't be easy... being in a body that he feels he doesn't belong in."

"No, it can't." Crutchie agreed.

"Being transgender seems like hell."

"We'll never know what he goes through..."

The boys quickly returned to Davey's side, Jack sitting next to him and Crutchie laying down next to him, holding the boy close. Jack ignored the pang of envy that passed through his chest as he picked up the box of tampons and pulled one out, trying to hand it to Davey. His friend needed him right now.

"Look, Davey, I know that using these makes you feel... sad. And wrong." Jack started. "But we both want you to know that we love you so much. The way you were born doesn't define your life now. Just... put this in, and we'll help through it day by day, ok?"

Davey slowly nodded, unwrapping himself from the blankets and sitting up. He took the tampon from Jack's hand and handed it to Crutchie, a silent ask for help. Crutchie nodded and the two of them silently made their way to the bathroom in the hall. As they did, Jack cleaned up the small bloodstain that was left on the white bedsheets, glad that he could do something to help, no matter how small.

XXX

Jack, Crutchie, and Davey spent the day on the couch in the boys' dorm room, binging _Friends _on Netflix. Davey insisted on wearing his binder, though Jack and Crutchie were reluctant. They knew it helped, but they also knew that he could hurt himself if he wore it for too long. They eventually caved, though, wanting him to feel better. And Davey did seem to feel better and better as the day went on. He even laughed at some of the jokes and ate a normal-sized dinner by nightfall. Jack and Crutchie were both grateful that he was feeling better.

XXX

Jack awoke the next morning on the couch in Davey and Crutchie's dorm room. He sat up and saw that the two boys were still asleep in their bed. Jack quietly stood up and snuck out the door, careful not to wake his friends. He took one look back at them and smiled before walking out and closing the door.

XXX

Jack was hunched over his desk, working on a charcoal drawing for his fine arts class when he heard a knock at the door. Darcy, who was laying on his bed on his phone, called "Come in."

Jack heard the door slowly open and didn't look up until he heard the tell-tale sound of Crutchie's crutch hitting the floor as he walked.

"Hey." Crutchie smiled easily.

"Hey," Jack replied, smiling back at the shorter boy.

"Thank you so much for helping with Davey yesterday. He's really feeling better today." Crutchie said, sliding his handicap elevator key into his pocket. Everyone was jealous of him for it, but he said he hated taking the elevator. He said it smelled.

"That's really good." Jack smiled, letting out the breath he didn't know he was holding.

Crutchie smiled again and walked towards Jack, pulling him into an easy hug. Jack melted into the smaller boy subconsciously, then immediately pulled away, realizing his mistake. Crutchie looked at him with a hurt and confused expression on his face, and Jack could tell he'd made a mistake.

"I... uh... need to go." Jack ran out the door, leaving a very confused Crutchie in his wake.

**(A/N - Being a cis female, I've never experienced gender dysphoria. Now, I know that it's different for everyone and things may be different for every trans person, but I really have no experience with this stuff. So, if any of you have comments on things I represented wrong or didn't explain well, please let me know. I'm always open to conversation. Kisses! -LilluvM)**


	3. Epilogue

Jack was walking through the quad one day right before Christmas break, going from his last class of the semester to his dorm.

_My jacket is getting too small,_ He thought to himself. _My wrists don't stay in the sleeves when I put my hands up._

"Hey, Jack!" Crutchie called, launching himself down the quad in his equivalent of running with Davey next to him.

"Hey, guys," he called back, stopping and waiting for them to catch up. "What's up?"

"Were on Christmas break!" Crutchie said excitedly, his classic grin inching across his face. It really was contagious. Jack could feel a small smile creeping across his face, despite how sad and distant he had been lately.

"Yeah, we are." He smiled. Crutchie put his hand up for a high-five, and Jack rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Don't leave me hanging." He said, pushing his hand closer to Jack's. Jack laughed and high-fived him, his jacket sleeves running down his arms to expose his wrists.

"Oh my god," Davey uttered, almost inaudibly.

"What?" Jack and Crutchie asked in unison.

Davey didn't say anything. Instead, he just grabbed Jack's wrist and pulled his sleeve up, exposing his soulmark.

"Dave, no," Jack uttered, yanking his wrist back after both boys in front of him got a second or two to look at the rainbow wings on his wrist.

"No, Jack, look," Davey said, unzipping his jacket and pulling his shirt down to expose a pair of rainbow wings. Jack's breath hitched in his throat as Crutchie pulled the waistband of his pants down an inch or two to she the same mark on his hipbone.

"Oh my god," Jack uttered. "All this time? It's been you two all this time."

The two boys across from him smiled, and Jack ran into their arms, hugging his soulmates. They each took turns kissing each other. Jack reveled in the soft feeling of Crutchie's lips and the slightly chapped feeling of Davey's. As he did, he felt a sense of calm wash over him. He knew this was right. He knew this was forever.

**(They're soulmates! Yay! Soooooooo... I really wanted to make this story longer, like the usual 20ish chapters I do, but I've just had MJAOR writer's block and absolutely no ambition to write, so it's just easier for me to end the story here on a happy note, rather than just leave y'all hanging. Anyway, thank you, everyone, for reading my story! ****Kisses! ****-LilluvM)**


End file.
